The Best Parts of My Week - 4/18/16--4/22/16

Hi everyone,

     It was such a fantastic week on so many levels!  In fact, this entry might be a bit longer than usual so I hope you have a few extra reading minutes……

…..As I watched my fifth grade students completed the PACER challenge this week I was struck by the maturity and improvement that students showed from just two years ago when they first learned to do the challenge.  They approached the PACER with a resolve to do their best and they demonstrated that they definitely know how to pace themselves!  If you have third graders do this challenge you know that it is sometimes hard to convince students to slow down and pace instead of racing.  As a result, their efforts paid off and they truly did their best!

…..One of my fifth graders told me that he practiced the PACER with his brother who is in third grade.  What a great big brother!

…..A second grader was having so much fun during a balance challenge that he told me he couldn’t keep his laughter in or he’d probably hurt something!

…..I take pictures often and I was letting a kindergarten student how well he was balancing by showing him a picture of himself on a balance board.  He smiled wide and said:  “Oh my goodness!”  He was so proud!

…..I use a “conflict corner” which is a technique I learned from Ben Landers - The PE Specialist - on Twitter (@thepespecialist).  My students use this strategy when they are having a problem during PE class.  Students go to the corner with another student and work out the problem using the steps outlined on the “Conflict Corner” card.  I was watching a few students who were in the “Conflict Corner” and it was so great to see them taking responsibility for their actions and working things out!

…..I watched a student achieve a goal this week and saw  the excitement on her face when she was able to complete a “double-under” jump rope trick!  She never gave up and showed perseverance!

…..When students are given the time and opportunity they can be incredibly creative.  Students were working on building a balance walk using large blocks and one of my first graders told me he was going to build a freight train.  He explained every part and then proudly walked across it!

…...Our gymnasium has undergone a transformation this year.  I am so grateful for the support and effort of my principal who spearheaded the campaign to renovate and improve the gymnasium.  While it has been planned for a few years, this year everything came together and this week it was finally finished.  In August our gymnasium was painted, in December the floor was refinished with newly painted lines that I designed, and this week all of the wall mats were replaced.  Each time a section of the project was finished we all "oohed" and "aahed" but this week it all came together.   Mere words cannot express how I feel but I am truly grateful for a beautiful teaching space.  The changes have not gone unnoticed by our students of course and one student remarked that the wall mats made everything come together and a kindergarten student decided that the gym is now “bluelicious”! (The wall mats are navy blue and a section of the wall paint is light blue…..)  While that may not be a real word, it is a very real description!

…..I love it when students provide me with a perspective or an idea that I have not thought of.  I was talking to a class about how I was going to have to come up with a different way to hang some pocket charts because of the new wall mats.  One of the students had a great suggestion and I am looking forward to using it!

…..Family Fitness Night was scheduled for Thursday and while this event takes much work to plan and the actual event passes by in the blink of an eye, it is worth every second!  We had wonderful parent volunteers, a delicious healthy snack made by a volunteer family, fantastic family participants, and so much fun!  The intent of this evening is to provide a variety of fun activities for students and families to exercise and play together.  There were so many families that were doing yoga, Go Noodle, racket activities, exercises, and playing a PE trivia game together that I just had to take a step back and watch.  I commented to one of the families about how great it was that they were really enjoying the evening together and they said that they were having a great time!  Fitness Frankie had a great time too!  I also set a one day record on my Fitbit that day - just over 36,000 steps! 

   

…..Friday was a Teacher Training Day and I had the opportunity to do some training in the morning and then provide a professional development session on Technology to some PE professionals in a nearby district.  I had such a great time meeting a group of K-12 PE professionals who were eager to learn something new!   They participated enthusiastically in the activities, had thoughtful questions, and listened intently to the presentation.  It was an absolute pleasure and fun too!  I always enjoy sharing ideas because I know that we can only make our profession stronger when we share!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 4/4/16--4/11/16

Hi everyone,

     It was nice (although a bit hectic) to get back into the school routine this week after spending last week at the SHAPE Convention in Minneapolis.  The weather is beginning to warm and Spring is actually in the air!

…..Fitness Frankie came back after having two weeks of adventures!  He continues to have some amazing healthy adventures and this week his picture was taken with his second grade friend as they worked out in a home gym!

…..It is nice to be missed!  Students definitely noticed that I was back this week and I got quite a few hugs and smiles and even a few “yay’s!”

…..I was delivering PhysicalEddie to a classroom early in the week and I walked by a student who was on his way back to his classroom with breakfast in his hands.  I reminded him to be careful as he was carrying it precariously down the hall when he looked up at me.  He seemed very surprised (I thought it was because I was back in school.) and he said:  “Hey!  I know you from the gym!”

……NYS Math Testing was on the schedule this week and that always means that the master schedule changes to accommodate the testing schedule.  I have learned to be flexible over the years and just go with the flow.  This week the schedule changes meant that I would have a second grade class that I don’t usually have because they are taught by my co-worker who travels between buildings in the district.  While I see the students on a regular basis, I am not their PE teacher and I definitely miss them!  Now, of course they love their regular PE teacher, but when they arrived at the gym door and I told them that I would be their teacher for the day I saw many smiles and was greeted with lots of hugs!  That greeting made my heart smile! 

…..I began a unit on balance with my students in grades K-2 and on the first day I asked them to do a series of balance challenges using various body parts and differing numbers of body parts so that the balances would be progressively more difficult.  I preceded each challenge with a question asking students if they were ready for the next challenge.  I smiled and giggled a bit when my kindergarten students answered with “Easy Peasy!”  I love that expression!  Students were ready for the challenges!

…..After discussing the need for strength when balancing and then having students practice I noticed a kindergarten student checking to see if her muscles were stronger.  She immediately came over to me and said with a smile:  “Look at my muscles!”

.....One of the balance challenges included a mat balance beam, a bean bag turtle, a bean bag frog, and a playground ball.  Second graders were allowed to use the equipment to find a way to balance and walk across the beam.  One of my students came over to me after taking a turn and said:  “I didn’t think I could do it but I did!”  I gave her a high five and she left with a smile a mile wide!

…..Another balance challenge included using peacock feathers and balancing them on different body parts.  I always underestimate how popular this station is and how excited students get when using the feathers.  Of course, feathers are very fragile and excitement + fragile sometimes = broken feathers!  I learned from a National Circus Project artist recently about using the idea of the “feather hospital”, which is where feathers go when they break.  I was reminding students to be careful with the feathers and told them about the “feather hospital” and asked them if they knew that I was indeed a “feather doctor”.  Some students giggled out loud because they thought that was the funniest thing ever! 

…..I have been experimenting quite a bit this year with student choice.  I love doing stations and I have used what I call “freedom with responsibility” (I learned this phrase from another PE teacher some years ago.) as a treat at the end of a unit.  However, this year I have been using that on a regular basis with the expectation that students must be working on the goal for the day in order to have the freedom.  I have found this approach to be very effective but this week I wanted to know what the students thought about it.  I asked my second grade students what they liked about being able to choose.  They were incredibly thoughtful and had some great conversations when I asked them to “turn and talk” about it.  They shared that they liked it because they thought it saved time and they could do more of the activities.  They are absolutely correct because time is not wasted on transition from station to station, especially when one group is not ready to move on when the others are ready to go.  They also said that they liked being able to do what they wanted to do when they wanted to do it.  Don’t’ we all????  What is interesting to me is that in the end, most students tried most, if not all, of the activities.  They played fair, played safe, and worked hard on the goal of balancing.  It also put the responsibility on the students to make good choices and gave them the ownership of the activity.  I am planning on expanding this idea of student choice as the year continues.  I’ll let you know how it goes!

…..My students in grades 3-5 are beginning the “Fitness Challenge” as I call it.  I stopped calling it a Fitness Test last year because of the number of tests students take and the negative connotation of tests in general.  I want students to do their best and use the information gained by participating in the challenges to make healthier choices going forward.  This week we worked on the PACER Challenge and I was proud of how hard students worked to meet and exceed the goals set in the Healthy Fitness Zones!

…..Friday was a beautiful day and students were outside for recess.  The playground is right outside my office window and I was working at my desk as a third grade group was outside.  I was happy to see a hopscotch game drawn in chalk on the blacktop and several students actually playing it!  Sometimes the “oldies” are the best!

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 4/4/16--4/18/16

Hi everyone,
       The "Best Parts of My Week" have nothing and everything to do with school!  Well, let me explain.........

.....I had an amazing opportunity to be at the SHAPE America (Society of Health and Physical Educators) National Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota this past week!  My district and school were generous enough to provide me with the opportunity to go and spend the week with some of the best PE and Health Educators in the country!  In and of itself, that chance qualifies as a "Best Part", but of course there is more!

.....The week started off with a general session with Tom Rath - author of Fully Charged, How Full is Your Bucket?, The Rechargeables, and many more wonderful books.  During his keynote address he talked about so many ideas that resonated with me but the one that stuck out the most made me think about the reason I write this blog.  He talked about how we need to charge ourselves up in our daily lives and one of the ways that we can do that is by experiencing what he called "small wins".  These "small wins" create meaning in our lives and help us to "charge".  I truly believe that this blog is about all of the "small wins" in my life and they definitely keep me charged up!

.....I also had the chance to participate in some training regarding SHAPE's National Standards and Grade Level Outcomes.  During this training I learned so much and I met some fantastic professionals that I will hopefully get a chance to work with in the future!

.....During a second general session I was afforded the opportunity to sit in the front of the auditorium based on our designation as a "Let's Move Active School".  It was wonderful because Koo Koo Kangaroo was going to perform and I would be able to see them up close!  If you do not know who Koo Koo Kangaroo is I would suggest that you check them out!  They are a duo and perform songs that provide activities for children (adults too!).  They are a big hit on a website called Go Noodle which provides ways for students to have activity breaks at school.  My students absolutely LOVE Go Noodle and Koo Koo Kangaroo!  I can't wait to tell them that Fitness Frankie and I saw them in person when I get back to school!

.....Later in the week we had some time to go to the Mall of America with some family that lives nearby.  Fitness Frankie found home plate from when it was Metropolitan Stadium!

.....Fitness Frankie made a new friend!

.....At the end of the week we celebrated the newest Teachers of the Year at the Hall of Fame Dinner.  We had a great time celebrated with so many amazing teachers.  It inspired me to go back and do the very best job I can do!  I am ready to return and hit the ground running!  

.....At the convention I went to so many sessions and learned so many things that my head is full and I will need some time to process all of the things that I learned.  So many ideas.....so little time.......

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE

The Best Parts of My Week - 3/28/16--4/1/16

Hi everyone,
    After a wonderful Spring Break it was time to get back to work!  Well, work yes, but the "best part" of course is that I LOVE my job so as I headed out the door on Monday morning I had a smile on my face for sure!

.....Not only was it the beginning of the week as we started back from Spring Break but it was also "A" Day.  We work on a six-day cycle:  Days A-F, so sometimes Monday is not really Monday.  Every "A" day a new cycle begins so it is always nice when coming back from a break we are starting a new cycle.  This means that I began a new warm-up as well as a new unit.  Our new warm-up was an activity that I created using play money.  I have seen many lesson ideas using play money and I have always wanted to try some out.  I finally got the play money I needed and one thing led to another as I created this warm-up for students in grades K-5 that I call "Money Madness".  The basic idea is that students must "earn" the money they pick from the center of the gymnasium as they work to solve a money math problem.  Students "earned" the money by completing an exercise based on whether the coin or paper bill was greater than, less than, or equal to $1.00.  I explained that adults have jobs to earn money and I asked students what my job is.  I got the most wonderful responses!  Some students said that my job is to keep them safe, others said it is to help them get stronger, and still others said that my job is to be a PE Teacher - all correct!  I also had the pleasure of saying that I have the best job in the world because I get to teach them!  When I said that the students smiled! (me too...!)

.....I posted a few pictures of my Money Madness warm-up on Twitter and was so happy at the response from my PE learning community!  Many wanted more information to try it out.  I was happy to share!  

.....Since March is National Nutrition month, I began some lessons this week teaching students about healthy choices and good nutrition using active games.  We are a Healthy Highway school and focus on health and wellness quite a bit but still, I was impressed with the knowledge that students already posses about nutrition.  When I asked a third grade class to give an example of a food in the protein group one student answered:  "duck"!  I was also proud of my kindergarten students who remembered food that they learned from one class this week and transferred that knowledge to the next PE class.  They let me know that they learned about the differences between fruits and vegetables and told me that asparagus was a vegetable that they learned about!  

.....Sometimes students randomly share their healthy choices with me as I am walking by them in the hallway.  This week I saw a student who was happy to share that she had eaten an apple that day!  I am so glad that they know that I am interested in their healthy choices!  

.....As a part of the Healthy Highway philosophy we teach students about Red Light, Yellow Light, and Green Light foods.  We played a game using paper plates and food cards based on the idea that food is fuel.  In one round of the game students try to give away Red Light foods and take healthy foods to fill up their plate.  I chuckled at the reaction one of my students had when she returned to her plate to find a Red Light food (brownies).  She said:  "UGH"!  

.....Even Physical Eddie learned about healthy foods this week!

.....Fitness Frankie to Go came back to school after a long Spring Break with one of my second grade friends.  He had such a great vacation!  He went to NYC, went to the doctor to make sure he was healthy, played outside, and had some healthy food!  All of this great adventure was documented with a beautiful photo collage and a story to go with it.  It was great fun talking with the student and her mom about the adventurous week!  

.....One of the nutrition activities that I do with my students is all about creating a healthy plate of food.  The idea is that students work in small groups and must choose bean bags matching the color of each food group on My Plate.  When a group has a plate with five bean bags (one of each color) they shout:  "We have a healthy plate!".  Each time they create a healthy plate they receive a tower piece.  Their goal is to create the tallest tower possible and at the end of the activity I make the connection between building a tower and growing healthy bones and muscles.  Students in first and second grade are allowed to get their own tower piece but I deliver the tower piece to kindergarten student groups.  It was fun to run around and deliver the pieces as groups shouted that they created a healthy plate.  At the end of the activity I showed students how hard I worked by showing them how fast my heart was beating.  They were impressed and I had the chance to make the point that it is important for adults to exercise too!  

.....During bus duty one day this week I was putting away some equipment while waiting for students to be called.  I lifted up a rolling cart that my goal chart hangs on.  (Idon't want to scratch my beautiful new floor!)  One of my kindergarten students exclaimed:  "You're strong!"  I thanked her and said that being strong is healthy but I also confessed that the cart was lighter than it looked.  She was surprised and still thought I was pretty strong to have carried it across the gym!

.....I am a proud member of NYS AHPERD.  Our state organization is divided into zones and my zone is the Southeastern Zone.  We sponsor an Elementary/Middle School Award ceremony in May to honor students nominated by their PE teacher.  These students are leaders, physically literate, good sports and good citizens.  They display courage and are great role models for their peers.  This week I had the honor of nominating my students for this year's award and sharing the news with them.  I am so proud of them and can't wait for the ceremony in May!   

I hope you enjoyed the "Best Parts of My Week"!  Visit my website:  North Park Physical Education to find out more about our Physical Education program.  

Follow me on Twitter!  @mrobPE